2014 WNBA Finals

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2014 WNBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Phoenix Mercury Sandy Brondello 3
Chicago Sky Pokey Chatman 0
DatesSeptember 7–12
MVPUnited States Diana Taurasi (Phoenix)
Eastern FinalsChicago defeated Indiana, 2–1
Western FinalsPhoenix defeated Minnesota, 2–1
← 2013 WNBA Finals 2015 →

The 2014 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2014 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.[1] The Phoenix Mercury, champions of the Western Conference, faced the Chicago Sky, champions of the Eastern Conference.

The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Mercury held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (29–5) than the Sky (15–19). The Mercury swept the Sky in three games to win their third title in franchise history.

Both teams would meet again in the 2021 WNBA Finals, but this time the Sky emerged victorious in four games.

Background[edit]

2014 WNBA regular season[edit]

# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1 y- Atlanta Dream 19 15 .559 - 34
2 x- Indiana Fever 16 18 .471 3.0 34
3 x-Washington Mystics 16 18 .471 3.0 34
4 x-Chicago Sky 15 19 .441 4.0 34
5 e-New York Liberty 15 19 .441 4.0 34
6 e-Connecticut Sun 13 21 .382 6.0 34
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1 y-Phoenix Mercury 29 5 .853 - 34
2 x-Minnesota Lynx 25 9 .735 4.0 34
3 x-San Antonio Stars 16 18 .471 13.0 34
4 x-Los Angeles Sparks 16 18 .471 13.0 34
5 e-Tulsa Shock 12 22 .353 17.0 34
6 e-Seattle Storm 12 22 .353 17.0 34

2014 WNBA Playoffs[edit]

Phoenix Mercury Chicago Sky
29–5 (.853)
1st West, 1st overall
Seeding 15–19 (.441)
4th East, 8th overall
Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (1) Atlanta Dream, 2–1
Defeated the (2) Minnesota Lynx, 2–1 Conference Finals Defeated the (2) Indiana Fever, 2–1

Chicago Sky[edit]

The Chicago Sky finished 15–19, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Sky defeated the Atlanta Dream in three games, setting up a conference final against the Indiana Fever. Chicago lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the first time in franchise history.

Phoenix Mercury[edit]

The Phoenix Mercury finished with the best record in the WNBA, finishing with a 29–5 record. The Mercury swept the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Sparks in the conference semifinals, and defeated the Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference Finals in three games.

Regular-season series[edit]

The Phoenix Mercury won the season series 2–0:

Series summary[edit]

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

Game 1[edit]

September 7
3:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 62, Phoenix Mercury 83
Scoring by quarter: 8–15, 12–27, 14–14, 28–27
Pts: Fowles (19)
Rebs: Fowles (11)
Asts: Vandersloot (5)
Pts: Dupree (26)
Rebs: Griner (7)
Asts: Taurasi (11)
Phoenix leads series, 1–0
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,263
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#38 Lamont Simpson
#42 Roy Gulbeyan

Game 2[edit]

September 9
9:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 68, Phoenix Mercury 97
Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 22–30, 15–23, 17–23
Pts: Delle Donne (22)
Rebs: Fowles (5)
Asts: Vandersloot (4)
Pts: Griner (19)
Rebs: Taylor (8)
Asts: Taylor (6)
Phoenix leads series, 2–0
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,348
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#18 Kurt Walker
#55 Eric Brewton

Game 3[edit]

September 12
8:00pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 87, Chicago Sky 82
Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 23–21, 16–20, 26–19
Pts: Dupree, Taurasi (24)
Rebs: Bonner (9)
Asts: Dupree (6)
Pts: Delle Donne (23)
Rebs: Fowles (8)
Asts: Vandersloot (11)
Phoenix wins series, 3–0
UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
Attendance: 7,365
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price

Rosters[edit]

Phoenix Mercury roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F 8 United States Bass, Mistie 6' 3" (1.91m) 189 lb (86kg) 12-02-1983 Duke 7
G 23 United States Bias, Tiffany 5' 8" (1.73m) 133 lb (60kg) 05-22-1992 Oklahoma State 5
G/F 24 United States Bonner, DeWanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 143 lb (65kg) 08-21-1987 Auburn 5
F 4 United States Dupree, Candice 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) 08-16-1984 Temple 8
C 42 United States Griner, Brittney 6' 9" (2.06m) 205 lb (93kg) 10-18-1990 Baylor 1
G 10 Latvia Jēkabsone-Žogota, Anete 5' 9" (1.75m) 167 lb (76kg) 08-12-1983 Latvia 2
C 11 Poland Kobryn, Ewelina 6' 4" (1.93m) 210 lb (95kg) 05-07-1982 Poland 3
G 14 United States Murphy, Eshaya 5' 11" (1.8m) 164 lb (74kg) 04-15-1985 USC 7
G 31 Australia Phillips, Erin 5' 8" (1.73m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-19-1985 Australia 6
G 3 United States Taurasi, Diana 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 06-11-1982 Connecticut 10
F 13 Australia Taylor, Penny 6' 1" (1.85m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-24-1981 Australia 12
Head coach
Australia Sandy Brondello (Western Sydney)
Assistant coaches
United States Julie Hairgrove (Arizona)
United States Todd Troxel (Doane)
Athletic trainer
United States Tamara Poole (Cal State Dominguez Hills)
Strength and conditioning coach
Pro Advantage Training

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured
Chicago Sky roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F 25 United States Brandon, Gennifer 6' 2" (1.88m) 164 lb (74kg) 11-23-1990 California R
F 51 United States Breland, Jessica 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 02-23-1988 North Carolina 2
G 0 United States Clements, Courtney 6' 0" (1.83m) 157 lb (71kg) 11-12-1989 San Diego State 1
G/F 11 United States Delle Donne, Elena 6' 5" (1.96m) 188 lb (85kg) 09-05-1989 Delaware 1
G 21 United States Faulkner, Jamierra 5' 6" (1.68m) 141 lb (64kg) 03-09-1992 Southern Miss R
C 34 United States Fowles, Sylvia 6' 6" (1.98m) 208 lb (94kg) 10-06-1985 LSU 6
C 9 United States Gatling, Markeisha 6' 5" (1.96m) 255 lb (116kg) 07-14-1992 NC State R
C 45 United States Goodlett, Sasha 6' 5" (1.96m) 239 lb (108kg) 08-09-1990 Georgia Tech 2
G 10 United States Prince, Epiphanny 5' 9" (1.75m) 164 lb (74kg) 01-11-1988 Rutgers 4
G 14 United States Quigley, Allie 5' 10" (1.78m) 140 lb (64kg) 06-20-1986 DePaul 5
G 22 United States Vandersloot, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 132 lb (60kg) 02-08-1989 Gonzaga 3
F 1 United States Young, Tamera 6' 2" (1.88m) 172 lb (78kg) 10-30-1986 James Madison 6
Head coach
United States Pokey Chatman (LSU)
Assistant coaches
United States Tree Rollins (Clemson)
United States Christie Sides (Louisiana Tech)
Athletic trainer
United States Christie Sides (Louisiana Tech)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Ann Crosby (Western Michigan)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

References[edit]